Fight for Freedom
by RealtreeGal
Summary: (Takes place during the Andacondrai season) Zane is still locked in Chen's dungeon, when Chen does something that shocks Zane. He offers Zane to be freed. Zane takes it while standing in the arena. But you know what they say. When there comes a gift, there comes a price. Will Zane be able to make it through the fights, or will he be crushed under the claws of a prehistoic beast?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi ppl! I know I should really update my other story, but I'm REALLY dying to get this out there. Speaking of my other story, it hit its 1,000 view mark sometime last month, and I'm REALLY grateful for that! I'm an author that's a bit more on the violent side, and this story ought to show it. (Spoiler alert: There's a sneak peek of one of my OC's special abilities). If you do not like you're favorite character being locked into a battle with a prehistoric animal, READ NO FURTHER!** **But if that made you more intrigued, read on!** **ENJOY THY CHAPTER**

Another nightmare.

He had gotten free of his chains again, and was intent for the crack in the cave ceiling. Quietly, he softly made his way, casting anxious glances at the black mouth of a smaller cave, hoping it wouldn't wake up and find him out in the open, where it was perfect opportunity for it to have a snack. He was a third of the way there now.

Still stepping, holding his breath, he continued.

Not a sound from the cave.

Alright, he thought. You're doing great.

Halfway there.

Feeling a bit more confident now, he increased his pace a little bit. But then there came a menacing growl, and the sound of chains slithering across the stony cave floor. Then the beast he hoped to not wake up came walking out. First it's blue head, silvery neck, wings, and then it's body and tail came out of the darkness. It stopped to sniff the air, then it's head snapped towards his direction.

Slowly, it walked toward him, and it exhaled, mist and shards of ice. It advanced, first at a slow but menacing walk, then at brisk pace, then a trot, a run, until it was galloping full speed towards him.

Where he was, there was a jagged slope of rock encrusted in snow. He backed up quickly as he could until his back was pressed flat against it. He tried to scramble up, but it was too slippery to climb over. He turned back around, seeing the beast was only half a furlong away from him. It raced towards him, mouth open, letting forth a huge plume of ice. Now it was only two yards away. Then one yard. At the final yard, the beast lunged at him, jaws wide open, revealing a row of sharp glittering teeth, and talons outstretched. It was so close to his face, he could feel it's icy breath on his body.

His eyes snapped open right before the feeling of claws slicing into his neck and body could set in.

Zane woke with a start. He was breathing heavily, still recovering from the horrible dream he just had. "It's- it was just another nightmare." Zane muttered to himself. However, when he still heard the sound of chains sliding on top of stone and growling,coming from right outside his door, as of the beast was waiting for him to come so it could devour him, he was convinced it was real. Zane's vision was out of focus, so when things became clear again, he remembered that he was still locked up in Chen's dungeon. He fought against the shackles around his wrists a little bit, but when he heard the voices of guards, he froze. He pretended to be asleep.

Zane was watching out from a half closed eyelid, when something large, scaly, and black moved past the "window" in his cell. It went on past, the sound of clinking chains following. Then he heard growling, violent noise of chains tightening, and a guard saying "A little help over here! Grab the loose end at the right. And watch the tail!" Zane saw a guard rush past his door. There was more growling, more shouts for backup, and more noise of chains. Curious about what was going on, Zane moved as close as his chains would let him. Peering out of the window, what he saw was frightening.

A large black scaly creature was fighting against the hold of a guard. The guard was pulling the tail-end of the chains wrapped around its mouth, others pulling at the chains that were attached to to a metal collar around its neck. The creature jerked its head upward, and tried to rear a little bit, but the guard countered it with some violent jerks downward. Loops of chain were wrapped around its ankles, loose enough to allow only a clumsy walk. Zane couldn't get too good of a view, plus where he was, it was dark, so he couldn't get make out all of its features. While struggling, the creature caught sight of Zane out of the corner of its glowing purple eye. Zane looked into its deep pink pupil, a look that was begging for help. But there was nothing Zane could do, even if he wanted to, which he did. He was chained to a wall in a cell. After a few more chains and struggling, the creature seemed exhausted, and reluctantly allowed itself to be led away. It cast a wistful glance back in Zane's direction, and Zane looked back at it, before it and the clinking sound of the chains faded into the dark corridor.

Based on the direction they went, Zane assumed that the guards were taking it to the more deeper parts of the dungeon. Zane felt a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to piece together what things he saw from the creature to figure out what in the world it was.

"I saw it was black and scaly, and it was alarmingly large. I also caught a glimpse of what looks like grey horns, and some sort of silver thing covering its head. Was it possibly armor, or was it all these metal chains wrapped around its mouth?" Zane cast a look down at his own chains, which were a metallic black. He sighed and sagged against the wall. "I need to get some sleep." But Zane was afraid about having another nightmare about that dragon. He tried to fight against his drowsiness, but he gave in within a few minutes. He slipped into a deep dreamless sleep.

But a few hours later, a blood-curdling shriek echoing through the corridors of the dungeon caused him to snap awake.

"Oh my god!" Zane said covering his ears when another scream rang soon after the first.

 **Eh, why not start it off with another dragon nightmare? Plz review, (plz really, I enjoy reading your thoughts, and constructive criticism helps me make my stories better), and comment on what you think can make this story more awesome. KEEP BEING AZOME!**


	2. Chapter 2: Conversation

Second chappie is up! Just so you know, I'm posting these three chapters on the same night. Not much to say so, ENJOY THY CHAPTER

Zane was deprived nothing short of sleep. He had stayed awake, listening to the terrible cries all night. He heard shrieks, roars, cries, and the occasional sound of rattling chains as if whatever was causing the noise was trying to break free of its bonds.

Down deeper in the dungeon (earlier that night)

Using the points of their spears and swords, the guards slowly forced the beast backwards into a cell. Not just any cell, like the tiny ones like the other losers of the tournament got. This one was bigger to house the beast, and had chains anchored to the heavy stone bricks of the wall. There was no door, except for a sliding iron bar door with a heavy lock on it. Taking advantage of the beast's exhaustion, the guards managed to chain up its ankles, hook the chains of the metal collar to metal rings in the wall (one on either side), and under Chen's orders, put a large metal band around its midsection too, to reduce its movement. Once those bonds were hooked and locked, everyone, except for two, backed away out of snapping range of its beak. Carefully, the guards slipped their fingers under the chain around its mouth, then yanked it off, flung it aside, and jumped away as the beast snapped at them with it powerful jaws. They drew the door closed and locked it. One of the guards stuffed the keys in his pockets, and they all went back to report to Chen.

"Well", said Chen as the guards came in and stood before him. "Did it work?" "Yes master," one from the front replied. "That beast that we caught the day before is successfully restrained. There's no possible way to get out of there." "Well great. I don't think having that thing running around the island is really good idea anyway." "Wait." One from the back interjected. "What are you going to do with it?" "It's none of your concern." Chen said in an irritated tone. "Now, shoo shoo! I've got other things to do." Chen waved them with a go-away motion with his hand. Just as the guards were walking out, Eyezor came in to the palace.

"Ah, Eyezor." Anything new going on that I should now about?" Chen asked, who seemed totally relaxed. "Since my shift of guarding is through, I just came to ask, what are gonna do with that-that thing you caught yesterday?" Chen sighed in exasperation. That's the second time he's heard the same stupid question, and it hasn't even been a full minute in between. Then he facepalmed. "If telling one person will stop a bunch of other people asking me what in gonna do with it, then I'll do it." He then leaned over to Eyezor, beckoning him close. Chen whispered something in his ear. Eyezor's face lit up with delight. "That's a great idea! The masters competing against one another is entertaining, but this…" A rare grin spread over his face. He was in full support of his master's idea. "I know, I know!" Chen said in a laughing fit. "Just think about it! It will be something we've never seen before!" Chen went in a fit of giggles with excitement, when Clouse, who had heard the full conversation but stayed silent, spoke up.

"But master, how are we supposed to ensure that it is loyal to you? In the beast does have a will of its own." Chen stopped giggling for a minute, and furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin in thought. "Good question, Clouse. Hmmmmm…. Perhaps you can make a spell, or some sort of potion or serum or something like that." "I can try." Clouse said and went off to try and formulate a serum that can corrupt the beast's mind while securing that it will be forever in Chen's command.

"In the meantime, I want the tin man moved down to deeper levels. I don't want him escaping again. Preferably the same one as the beast is on." Chen said. He didn't want to risk him getting away. "As you wish, Master." Eyezor bowed and went to go carry out Chen's orders, when he called Eyezor back.

"Wait, wait!" Chen called. Eyezor turned back to Chen. "Wait until Clouse is done with the serum." Chen paused. "I want him to see his contender in its new behavior." Chen finished, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

Ummmm... Yea. So the beast is now evil. Now whoever Chen, Clouse, or anybody else it's loyal to is now officially screwed. 


	3. Chapter 3: Corruption and transfer

**Ok dis chap is loooooooong. I wouldn't be surprised if Clouse had some of the ingredients that are mentioned in this chap. He** ** _is_** **a sorcerer, anyway.** **ENJOY THY CHAPTER**

Clouse took out a beaker and some measuring containers and placed them on a table. Then he walked over to a small cabinet in the corner of one of his rooms, and opened it up. In there hung some sickly colored dried plants that looked too disgusting to be called herbs. Clouse scanned his eyes along the racks of herbs until he found what he was looking for. "Dried Shadowbane. This ought to keep the serum working effectively longer." He took the dried bundle off the rack and placed it carefully next to the glass beakers. Then Clouse went over to the herbs cabinet again, and this time pulled out another bundle, smaller and a dark purple in color. He set it down next to the Shadowbane. Clouse went to one of the taller cabinets, and pulled out a metal bowl and a small oak box. Clouse undid the latch that kept the box closed. He opened it up, revealing his most precious ingredients. Dark matter and Andacondrai venom. Each was in a small glass bottle with a cork stopper, and they were protected by black foam padding. Clouse carefully picked the bottles out of the box and set them with the rest of the things.

Making sure everything was accounted for, Clouse picked up the bowl and went to fill it with scalding hot water. Then he went back and took the shadowbane, crumbled it in his hand, and dumped it in the boiling water. It began to take on an inky black color. Then he plucked a couple leaves from the purple-black herb and put them in the boiling black water. "Madonila will be able to give it more of a kick." Then Clouse pulled the cork on the dark matter and measured about one and a half milliliters and poured it in with the boiling shadowbane. The mixture began to take on a blackish-purple color with a slight glow. Then, after putting the cork back in, he undid the stopper on the bottle of the Andacondrai venom and lured in about half. The mixture now was the bright glowing purple color of the venom itself. Clouse smiled bitterly, took out a glass vial, poured in some of the mixture, and put a cork in the top. He pocketed the vial, and walked out of his quarters and back to the throne room.

"Oh goody, did you finish it?" Chen asked, with a mix of anxiousness and excitement. Clouse carefully pulled out the vial of the glowing liquid that he had stowed in his pocket and held it up for Chen to see. Chen's eyes lit up with curiosity and delight. "Oooooh. Can I see it?" "But you are seeing it. I'm holding it, and you're looking at it." "No no no. Not that kind of see. Like the holding-it-myself king of seeing." Clouse carefully held it out to Chen. He swiftly grabbed the vial out of Clouse's grip. Chen leaned back in his chair, turning the vial over in his fingers and staring into the shimmering depths of the liquid itself. "What's it made out of?" Chen asked out of curiosity. "Shadowbane, madonila, dark matter, and venom." Clouse replied, counting them off of his fingers.

"But now, how are we supposed to get the serum in its bloodstream? Can we pour it in its food or water?" Chen said to Clouse. "Oh no, that isn't possible. It's a lot smarter than it looks, Master. It will notice the venom and will probably starve itself after that. I don't think you would like the latter happening. You will need it, after all." "True, true. But is there any other way?" Chen asked again, beginning to become concerned. "Oh yes, indeed there is a way." Clouse said, turning on his heel and striding off to his quarters. Chen stared after him with a confused expression. Clouse came back a minute later, holding something else in his hand. When Clouse stood in front of him, Chen saw what Clouse was holding a syringe, and the needle was very long. He motioned for Chen to give back the serum. Upon handing it back, Clouse opened the end of the syringe and poured in as much serum it could hold. Closing it, Clouse passed the syringe to Eyezor, who held it up and was observing it. "Now do exact what I say. Inject this at the beast's shoulder, and don't be afraid to really push it in. It's scales are tough, and this needs to get into the bloodstream, otherwise it won't work. But the dark matter should make the corruption process a bit easier. Understand?" Eyezor nodded, and Clouse looked at Chen for approval. He nodded his head, and said "Hurry now, I don't want to waste another second of the thing being locked in the dungeon and not having a decent purpose." Eyezor bowed to Chen and went down to the corridors, needle in hand.

Once Eyezor was gone, Chen leaned over to Clouse and lowered his voice. "I want you to tell the guards that I have something planned for them. Something big."

(I know this is a good place to stop but I'd rather go on so why not XD imagine a new chapter here)

Eyezor walked down into the sloping passageway that led to the dungeon. He kept going down, passing guards on his way, the light of torches dwindling as he went down the winding corridors that led to the deeper part of the dungeon. There was only one last torch before the dim black, so Eyezor took it and carried it down with him into the older passageways.

Down here, the air was dank and musty, the stone brick walls were almost overrun by large patches of cave moss, which grew slimy and green. Water dripped from the stalagmites hanging like sharp spear points from the ceiling, forming puddles of icy water on the ground. All the torches were smoldered, and their brackets rusting. This part hasn't been used in years, except for when the monster was caught the other day. Walking along the passageway, the shining of the torch and the splashing of his feet moving through the puddles earned a surprised snort and the sound of some jingling chains told Eyezor that he was at the beast's "cell".

Eyezor took out a ring of keys from his pocket as he walked up to the door of the beast's containment. Holding the still blazing torch, Eyezor looked for a bracket, and found one a little ways to the right of the cell. He took the scorched, rotting stump of the old torch and tossed it aside, placing the burning one in the rusting bracket. Turning back to unlock the door, Eyezor saw that the firelight reflected off the bars of the door, the shackles of the beast, and orange light bouncing off the creature's jet black scales too. Upon seeing Eyezor, the beast growled menacingly at him, as if telling him to stay back, but Eyezor only chuckled evilly as he unlocked and slid open the barred door.

"Easy now, big guy. It's only me." Eyezor said, walking into the cell. Its mouth hD been chained shut again. The beast replied with a sharper growl, and tried to swipe at Eyezor's legs, but couldn't, because all of its legs were restrained. Eyezor tried to place a hand on its head, but it backed away from him and hissed sharply. "I suggest to save it, tough one. You're gonna need it later on." Eyezor stepped over all of the chains, working his way over to its shoulder. It tried to move but couldn't. Eyezor pulled out the needle,and began to search for a good spot where he could inject the serum. Once Eyezor found a vein visible under the grey underside of its shoulder, he bared it, and thrusted it deep into the vein. Clouse was right, Eyezor thought. These scales are a bit fought to get past. The creature groaned a little, but that was it. Eyezor watched as the serum slowly began to drain from the tube of the syringe. He watched as it slowly draining away, then yanked it back out when it was all gone, causing the beast to groan a bit again. Seeing that his job was done, Eyezor worked his way back to the cell door. Once there, he slid the door shut and locked it, and was reaching for his torch.

And that's when the screaming and writhing set in.

The beast was was screaming and howling twisting and fighting against the hold of the chains. It was clawing at is head, as if it were trying to get a voice out of its mind. It twisted until the scales underneath the chains were raw, and still kept fighting until the raw areas began ooze red. The beast still shook its head violently, like it was trying to fight the evil that threatened to invade its brain. The beast tried to open its chained mouth, and all of the loops on its snout broke with a loud snap. Then a horrible roar was ripped out of its throat. The roar echoed through the corridors of the dungeon, all the way to the top levels. It fought some more against the chains and the corruption of its body, but then it suddenly fell limp to the floor. But its claws still twitched in its sleep. When the beast stirred again, which wasn't for another few minutes, it got up slowly, but surely. Then it opened its eyes. Eyezor grinned in evil delight when he saw nothing in those cold, pupiless eyes, except for the the fact that it knew it was now loyal to Chen and a ruthless desire to kill. Instead of growling, the beast now looked at Eyezor impassively. "Chen will be very pleased with your transition." Eyezor said the beast. It responded with a low but agreeable growl. Eyezor thought about undoing its shackles, but then decided not to, he didn't know if Chen thought it was ready to come out of the dungeon yet. Glancing back at the beast, he began to head back to the throne room to report to Chen, when the beast growled in a way as if it was reminding him that he forgot something. "Oh, right. I bet you're hungry aren't you?" Eyezor pulled out a strip of dried meat Chen had given him earlier to give to the beast. He walked back over to the door, and slid the strip underneath the door. The beast grabbed it and devoured it hungrily. Once it was finished, it stared after Eyezor as he walked off, the light of the torch fading away, leaving the beast in complete darkness.

Eyezor came back into the throne room, an expectant-looking Chen and Clouse staring at him. "Did the serum take effect?" Clouse asked Eyezor. "It did its work very quickly. It knows it's loyal to you and Chen now. I thought about taking off most of its chains, but I didn't know if Chen thought it was ready for that yet."

"You can take off most off them if you want to, but just leave on the ones around its front legs and its neck." Chen told Eyezor. "Once that's done, Clouse, you and some other guards move the tin man down to the beast' level." Clouse and Eyezor bowed to Chen and went to carry off his orders. "This…This is going to be one of the best events I've ever seen." Chen said, putting his hands behind his head and relaxed in his chair.

Zane was sitting on the ground of his cell, looking around his cell to see if there was any way out. His chains were too thick to cut through, and after his first escape, more guards were posted in the corridors. There was no way out that he could possibly see, so he thought of referring to P.I.X.A.L, but when he heard the sound of guards coming down the corridor, Zane immediately knew it was a no-go. That's when the guards Zane thought to be passing by him stopped right outside his door. Zane heard the sound of his door being unlocked. The guards opened up his door and stepped inside. Both were armed with swords, but one was holding a pair of cuffs in his hand. One of the guards pulled out a key ring and undid his shackles with the key, and swiftly grabbed both of Zane's wrists and pinned them behind his back. Transferring both wrists to one hand, the guard took the cuffs from the other one's hand and clipped them onto Zane's wrists. Once the cuffs were locked, the guards roughly grabbed Zane the armed and pulled him onto his feet. Still holding Zane by the arms, they led him out of his cell. Zane was surprised to see Clouse also standing there. He held the taser stick in his hand, in case of Zane decided to try something else. The guards flanked Zane as they led him down the corridor, the same direction as they took the beast last night, with Clouse taking up the rear. They made their way, twisting and turning down the passageways. The farther they went, Zane noticed that the torches were placed at less frequent intervals, the stone bricks were no longer a sandy color; they were now a cold grey with green lichen growing there in big patches. The group went farther down, and one of the guards had to grab a torch out of one of the brackets. The air was colder down here, and it was almost completey dark, the torch being the only source of warmth and light. Not like anyone needed it anyway. Zane assumed nothing was down here, except maybe the beast. That's when Zane began to feel like something watching him. For some reason, a sense of panic began to rise through him. Totally calm the first minute, then scared the next.

The beast was just freed of most of its chains, mainly around its body and back legs. Eyezor was walking off, and the beast decided to stretch its legs a little bit, and flexed its claws as well. It scratched at the stone floor, its claws making a hollow scraping noise. Eyezor had loosened the chains around its neck enough so it could curl up into the ground to sleep and to pace around the cell. The beast, not knowing what to do, paced back and forth around the cell. Then it heard the sound of multiple people coming down the corridor. It kept pacing, but stopped when it sensed something else. The beast smelled fear, like the fear of prey being hunted down by a persistent predator. And it knew that his prey was somewhere in the group, about to pass by its door. So as soon as a silver figure came into view, the beast lunged at the bars, trying to get its claws through the bars so it could tear him apart.

The farther down the passageway they went, the stronger the sense of fear became. Coming from down the hallway ahead of them, Zane heard the sound of something big breathing and pacing back and forth, and chains dragging with it. They moved closer to the source of the sound, the light from the torch reflecting faintly off what Zane guessed to be iron bars. The group was only about a yard away from the door when the moving stopped. But they all kept going as if nothing had changed. Zane had just stepped in front of the be marred door when there was a loud snarl and the loud clanging of something throwing itself against the bars of the door, which almost caused Zane to leap out of his exoskeleton. He jumped back, tripped over himself, causing him to stumble awkwardly backwards. He collided with the wall before he could fall completely to the ground. Zane saw grey claws coming through the bars of the cage, as well as its massive grey beak. Zane was brought back up not to kindly.

Clouse walked over to the still enraged beast that was trying to get out. "Down, get down you beast!" Clouse commanded. The beast stopped and got off the bars, back onto all fours. But the beast was still staring daggers into Zane and a low growl was rising from its throat. Turning back, he signaled the guards to go on ahead with Zane. Clouse came back to the rear. "I see that you've got a closer look at your contender for tomorrow night. Or for the next five nights to be exact." Clouse snickered. "Better save up your energy for midnight tomorrow, instead of wasting it on your attempts to escape. Because I'm telling you, tin man, there. Is. No. Way." Zane turned his head back forward, he had been staring back at the beast, possibly the same one that had tried to escape the hold of the guards just only the night before.

Still holding the torch, Clouse led the guards and Zane farther down the hallway, and stopped at a cell door. One of the guards opened the door, and Zane was shoved roughly inside. There, the guards chained him up again, wrapping chains around his wrists, along with the shackles that were on the wall. Once everything was locked, the guards stepped back out and slammed the door shut and locked it. Clouse and the guards walked away back to the upper levels. Clouse had no intentions whatsoever to leave any torchlight for Zane. The glowing light grew weaker as they continued back up. Soon Zane was left in the pitch black. Inhaling, the cold, dank air hit Zane's nostrils and filled his lungs. He was still piecing together what Clouse had said and what it had to do with him. I see you've gotten a closer view of contender for tomorrow night. What could that mean? You, contender. You, contender. You, conten-

 _Oh god._

Zane was supposed to fight that thing. The beast with claws and an indescribable desire to kill any living thing that it could or its masters commanded it to. And what did he have? Nothing but his fists and basic ninja skills. Maybe he could use it to escape whatever they're supposed to fight. _But maybe not_ , Zane thought. _Chen's smarter than that_. P.I.X.A.L seemed to notice Zane's worry. "Is something wrong Zane? Your anxiety levels at elavating." "N-no P.I.X.A.L. Everything's fine." Zane replied stuttering. But it wasn't fine. Nothing was fine. Zane was supposed to be locked in a head-to-head battle with this beast, and from what he saw, he didn't stand a chance.

 **Zane, I hate to say it, but... you're** ** _screwed_** **.**


	4. Chapter 4: Fists to Claws

**Hey everyone! I'm back with chappie 4! Omg finally we've got some fighting going on yaaaaaass! MilesPrower22 asked if Zane and the beast were going to fight in front of the elemental masters. I don't quite know yet, but I was thinking about that. I'm considering it. Have any of you guys figured out what the beast actually is yet? Keep an open mind. So yesterday my uncle gave me a pair of deer antlers to put in my room. There not attached to the skullcap, but they're from the same deer.** **ENJOY THY CHAPTER**

Zane checked his internal clock. It was 11:03 pm. It was now the night of the battle. Zane was really on the edge. He was nervous. He didn't know the full extent of his opponents powers and abilities. He still had about a hour left, so he decided to rest up for tonight's round. Zane passed in and out of an uneasy sleep. After waking up for the 6th time, oh, forget it. Zane thought. He checked his clock again. 11:46. His heart was racing. He didn't want to go into the arena, but he had no choice. Zane heard someone coming down the hallway and a warm light reflecting off the stone brick walls. Two guards appeared at his door, unlocked it, stepped in, and repeated the process of his hands being cuffed behind his back. Then he was led out. The guards kept Zane in front of them as they made their way back up to ground level.

After coming out of a entry way to the dungeon in the jungle, the guards led Zane along a dirt path that led to the arena. Shafts of silvery moonlight shown through the dense leaves of trees overhead. Thick, lush undergrowth flourished at the sides of the path. Zane looked down at the ground, and saw large prints also in the dirt. So the beast took the same path. Zane shuddered. He didn't want to think about him being stuck in an enclosed space with a corrupted animal.

They walked the rest of the way in silence

Or almost all the way, when suddenly P.I.X.A.L spoke up.

"Zane, where are they taking us?" Zane froze. He heard it, and the guards did too.

"Eh? Who said that?" The guard asked, looking to see if anyone else was slinking around in the bushes or behind them. "I don't know." Said the other guard. He went to urge Zane forward again, when he noticed what looked like a small slot. The guard motioned to the other and pointed to the slot. He nodded, forced a struggling Zane to the ground with his elbow, opened the cover of the slot, and pulled out P.I.X.A.L's hard drive. The guard held it in his hand, observing it with a curious face. "Please-" Zane said, struggling to talk under the guard's foot. "Put it back." Both guards looked at each other, laughed, and threw the hard drive over his side, landing in the grass growing at the side of the path. "You don't need that. Now come and get up. It's 11:50, and the fight is supposed to start in eight minutes. We'll get good seats if we hurry, I see the roof over the trees over there." Sure enough, the white roof of the arena peeked thorough the trees. Zane saw lines upon lines of Chen's staff going inside. Obviously it seemed this was long anticipated as soon it was announced. The guards shoved Zane forward and began to walk in the direction of the arena.

Instead of walking. Through the front like everyone else was, the guards led Zane to the back of the arena, where several more guards were stationed, guarding the entryway for the competitors.

The guards let the group through, and they started walking down a long narrow passageway that went straight for awhile but then swung to the right and went straight again. Zane guessed he was under the stands, based on all the noise from above. Then the passageway swing left, straight, and down. Zane was forced into the room with the iron bars at the far end of the arena (like the ones that Jay and Cole were in durning Versus). His chains were unlocked and dropped and he heard the sound of the heavy wooden door that was the only way in slam shut and locked. Zane looked out from the bars of the holding chamber and saw that the bleachers on either side were filled with Chen's staff (guards, foot soldiers, stuff like that). One set was at the left side of the arena, and the other set at the right. Directly in front of him at the top where the bleachers were, Zane saw Chen sitting in his throne with Clouse by his side. Chen looked very excited, where as Clouse just seemed like this happened every day. Zane then noticed that below Chen, directily across the arena from his holing chamber, a huge set of heavy wooden doors studded with brass at the tops and bottoms. There was a piece of thick metal on each one, going out straight and then curving upwards. Resting on the pieces of metal were huge wooden beams with handles on the sides, one beam behind the other. He heard something large banging from the inside of the doors, as if it was either trying to get out into the arena, or it was trying bash down the walls to get away. Zane stepped back, just as the bars on his holing chamber began to disappear into the ground. There were some cheers from the stands as Zane stepped out into the arena.

"Zane, consider yourself lucky since I am giving you this offer. You're probably the only one that will receive it." _And what would that be? Fighting in the Tournament of Elements just I could lose and you can keep me locked up forever?_ Zane thought. "I'll free you!" Chen said, and a hush fell over the stands. Zane was completely surprised, this was the last thing Zane excepted Chen to do. The stands also looked surprised and were casting glances at Chen. "If, if you're willing to fight for it. Best of five, each of the five against my champion, and like I said the the other elemental masters, no two fights will be the same. So, are going to fight? You don't have to if you don't want to. But that most likely means that you want to stay locked in my dungeon then. I'll give you ten seconds to decide, starting….now." Chen sat back in his chair and Zane could see that he was mentally counting. Zane didn't know what to do. If he fought, he could be freed, but he didn't know if he could defeat the beast or what tricks Chen hid up his sleeve. "5 seconds." Zane was panicing now, he didn't know if-

"Four"

"Three"

"Two"

"O-"

"I'll do it!" Zane blurted. When Zane saw the delighted expression on Chen's face, he knew that there was, as of now, no turning back. He was locked in the best of five, for better or for the worst of it.

"Excellent!" Chen exclaimed. "This battle, being the first battle of this week, is just a classic, no-weapons battle. Your only available weapons are your fists and whatever physical fighting skills you have." Chen gestured to a pair of foot-soldiers from the stands. They got up, climbed down into the arena, and walked over to the door. The beast was head butting against the door, based on the way the doors moved. One grabbed the handle on one beam, the other grabbing the other one. On Chen's command, the foot soldiers began to pull the beams away from the door to let the beast into the arena. They were only halfway done with pulling the two beams out of the way, when the beast, in a terrifying blur of black, burst through the door and smashing through the beams, causing splinters to fly everywhere. The beast charged into the arena with all of its speed and fury, earning a roaring approval from the stands. The beast charged at Zane, at Zane threw his hands over his head to protect himself, but the beast skidded to a halt about six feet in front of him. "Pfffft. Some fighter he is." Chen said when he saw what Zane did when the beast charged. "Alright! I'll give you about thirty seconds to size each other up." Zane uncovered his face to evaluate his opponent. It head was a bit in triangular shape, going up into a frill that covered its neck mostly, a somewhat arched back, and a low, sweeping tail. Zane also saw that where the beak ended, above the nostrils, there was a small, grey horn there. But above its now blank, glowing purple eyes, there were two longer grey horns, one above each eye. They were both about as long as Zane's arm fully outstretched one and a half times. At the frill, some bony growths poked out at regular principle. Its claws and underside were also grey. It wasn't fat, but it was muscular. Zane looked his opponent overall, and it was a beast. But Zane felt like he seen something like that before. He racked his mind, and the Grundle came into mind. But his opponent was on four legs, not two. It snorted and shook its head. It was itching to get its claws on him. Then Zane realized what the beast really was.

It was a massive triceratops, ready to tear him from the inside out. _But it couldn't be!_ Zane thought, his mind racing. Those have been extinct for 65 million years! There couldn't be a single one left walking the surface of the earth!

 _Unless Clouse used a spell to pull one into existence._ Zane thought.

"Times up!" Chen called. The triceratops flared its nostrils and shook its head. Zane balled his fists although his hands were shaking. How was he supposed to defeat this thing?!

"Alright!" Chen called over the cheering of the stands. "Claws up! Fists ready! FIGHT!"

The crowd cheered as the triceratops slashed at Zane experimentally. Zane jumped back to avoid the swipe, and launched forward to land a punch below its eye. His fist made solid contact, but when he landed, he saw that the triceratops didn't even flinch. It wheeled around to face him. Since it's a dinosaur, Zane thought, it's only moves will probably be charging and maybe a tail swipe here and there. The triceratops charged at him again, and Zane jumped up to avoid it.

But Zane was taken by surprise when the triceratops jumped up also and roundhouse kicked him in the face.

Zane fell back to the ground with a thud. He got up, rubbing the side of his face. Did it just _roundhouse_ kick him in the face?! Zane skittered away when the triceratops landed perfectly on all fours with a loud _thud_ beside him. Zane got up, and flew at the triceratops, landing a hard kick in its jaw. It gave way a couple steps, but then it did something that shocked everyone, even Chen and Clouse. It got up into two legs, standing up, curled its fores into fists, and got into a battle stance. Then it lauched itself at Zane, throwing punches at his face. A couple hit Zane squarely, causing him to go reeling back. Then the triceratops got back down, swept its tail at Zane's feet, making him fall. But before he could hit the ground, the triceratops came in and punched him hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him skidding across the ground. He didn't stop until his head slammed into the side of the arena wall. His vision grew fuzzy.

But the triceratops wasn't done with him yet.

It sprinted over, grabbed Zane at the back with its beak, and moved its head into the side. Zane fought the grip of the triceratops's hold, but it held fast. It swung its head to the side, and flung Zane into the closest wall of the arena. There was a crumpling sound as Zane fell back to the ground. Chen looked at where Zane hit the wall, and his mouth became an "O". Where Zane made contact with the wall, there was cracks and broken pieces of stone. Chen was thoroughly pleased.

Zane weakly turned onto his back with his elbow. Supporting himself shaking elbows, he saw the triceratops run to to the narrow post of wood with the snake coiled around it, the jade blade in its mouth. The triceratops climbed up with amazing speed, snatched the hade blade from its holding place, and held it up triumphantly. Zane's vision faded to black as he passed out and the triceratops let out a roar of victory. Zane's head lolled to the side as the triceratops climbed down, jade blade in hand. "Take your mark." Chen said. The triceratops walked over to a "T" on the wall of the arena, showing a "Z" on one side, the other blank. Chen took notice of that.

"I wonder if I should name it." Chen said, almost to himself. "You should." Clouse replied. "You should give it a fierce one, to strike fear." "Good idea.." Chen said, considering it. He watched as the triceratops took the jade blade and struck a mark on the wall with it, causing some sparks to fly and earning wild whoops and cheers from the stands. Chen smiled as it turned to face the stands, waving the jade blade it was holding. Chen applauded and motioned for some guards to take the beaten up Zane back to his cell. Dragging him by the arms, the guards hauled him to his cell to lock him back up. "Thank you all for coming, and good night!" All of the staff disbanded, and soon only Chen, Clouse, and the triceratops were the only ones there. The triceratops was trotting around the arena, expecting another competitor to come out of the arena. "Now, now, big one, no need to be pacing around all night. That's all for now. You can come up here if you want." The triceratops climbed up the side of he arena wall and walked over to Chen. Now what? It's expression seemed to say as it looked at Chen. Then a cold breeze blew. "Ooh, it's getting cold. Let's head back to the palace, shall we?" The triceratops nodded in a agreement, and soon all three were walking back to the palace. Soon they were at the palace door. Clouse opened them up, and a wave of warmth greeted them. Chen stepped inside, along with Clouse and the triceratops. Chen walked up to his throne, people bowing to him as he went. Chen sat in his throne and relaxed, Clouse took up his right side, and the triceratops laying down at his left. Chen looked at the triceratops, and when he saw it laying on the wooden floor. He felt kind of bad, his champion laying on the floor with no real comfort. But it wasn't complaining. That still didn't stop Chen from ordering someone to get something for it to sleep on. Brought out by guards a few moments later was a wine- red pillow with gold trim. It was big enough for the triceratops to curl up on and sleep. It stepped out of the way as the guards placed the pillow down next to the throne. The triceratops gratefully curled up onto it, resting its head on its forefeet. That's when Chen remembered something.

"Clouse, what did you do with that armor it had on when they caught it?" "I put it away." Clouse replied casually. "Can you get that back out? I want him to have it on for tomorrow's battle, since it's going to have weapons. "Very well." Clouse said, and walked off to get its armor. Chen was still looking over at the triceratops. It was also asleep, but its claws twitched, as if it was streaming about tearing something or someone apart. Chen heard a growl, thinking it was coming from the triceratops. He looked, and saw it was still asleep, but the growl was coming from the triceratops. More precisely, its stomach. A foot soldier was walking past him, his shift was over.

"Sleven!" Sleven jumped, not expecting Chen to call him out. Sleven turned his attention towards Chen. "Go outside and get some plants for my champion to eat." At the mention of the champion, Sleven saw the sleeping giant triceratops, and his eyes grew wide. Quickly, he went out to get some plants, if it meant not being eaten alive by whatever that was. Just as Sleven went out, Clouse and some other guards came into the throne room carrying the armor. The clanking and rattling of the metal woke up the triceratops. It leapt up, baring its claws, but relaxed when it saw it was just Clouse and some guards. Chen saw the triceratops's eyes light up with recognition when it saw the armor. Clouse and the guards carefully laid it out on the floor. There lay a helmet, two pairs of gauntlets, and a full body suit of armor. The triceratops walked up to the suit on the floor and began to wrestle on its front gauntlets. Once they were on, the triceratops flexed its claws. The claws were a bit dull, so the gauntlets made them sharper and a bit longer. The two guards got the back ones on, while Clouse put on the body armor.

The body armor covered almost the whole body, with small, razor sharp spikes running along the top. To protect the underside, the thin plating there was going one under the other, almost like it was woven. The armor stopped right below the shoulders, flanks, and the base of the neck. Last but not least was the helmet. It didn't cover the whe head, but to covered the top and halfway down the sides of the face, leaves holes for the horns to go through and for the eyes. The edge went straight, but dipped down behind the horn growth on the cheek (yes, triceratops do have that) and went back up again, running along the point where the bed was starting to slant up into the frill. Clouse tightened it up with a leather chinstrap. Everyone stepped back to let Chen see the armor on the triceratops. Chen wasn't this happy since he took the power from an elemental master yesterday. In fact, he looked happier than that.

"Oh my, would you look at that! He won't stand a chance against you tomorrow night!" Chen then went into a fit of giggles. Just then Sleven came back in with an armful of grass and other plants and saw the triceratops in armor. Sleven stared at it with awe. The triceratops went back and sat on the pillow, looking expectantly at the grass that Sleven had. He looked at Clouse, since Chen was still giggling, and Clouse pointed to the ground in front of the triceratops. Nervously, Sleven walked up to the triceratops and put the grass down in front of it. The triceratops bent down, sniffed the grass, and grabbed a mouthful. It chewed the grass contently.

"You may go now Sleven." Sleven bowed to Chen and went on his way, casting a nervous glance at the eating triceratops. Chen watched as it ate, tapping his chin.

"Now, what to name you…"

 **Sooooo...how did you like it? I bet you weren't expecting it to be a dinosaur did you? Imagine the FACE on Zane XD. Do you think I was a little too brutal? It only gets better from there. I kept typing castle whenever I meant to type palace ?. Plz review (Plz, I thoroughly enjoy reading your thoughts, and constructive criticism is appreciated). Tips and advice welcomed with open wings (I love dragons kaaaay?), and comment on what you think can make this story even more awesome. Stay AZOME!**

 **~ ENDERREX, master of Darkness and Dragons**


	5. Chapter 5: Bloodshed

**Ok, I lied about the update time. SORRY BLAME IT ON SCHOOL. Anyway, this battle has a little (a lot) more blood to it, so if you don't like bloody scenes, TURN BACK NOW. I had a little bit of writer's block on this chappie, so it might seem a bit...y'know.** **ENJOY THY CHAPTER**

"So," Clouse began. "Have you decided a name for it yet?" It was afternoon, and Chen still hadn't thought of one. Chen furrowed his brow in thought. The truth is, he had come up with some names, but still hadn't settled on one. He liked the names Shadowbane, Midnight Terror, and Phantom. Chen leaned over and glanced down at the triceratops, who was tapping its claws on the ground, making a hollow metallic noise. It looked really bored. It caught Chen looking at it and glanced back as if to say 'What?' Chen sagged in his chair and sighed. He thought really hard. What should be its name? He looked at the beast again. Perhaps a name that suits its characteristics best.

Let's see here, Chen thought. Grey horns, black scales, cold purple eyes, glittering claws. It looked dark, so it's name should be dark as well. His colors make him a bit phantomish in the night, the guards reported they had a little trouble keeping up with it because they almost couldn't see it. Chen thought for a moment more. Then he settled on one. He cleared his throat.

"I have settled on a name for my champion." He stared down at the triceratops. Who gazed up back at him. "Phantom shall be his name." Chen gestured to the triceratops. "Come on now, stand up. Let them see you." The triceratops-Phantom-got up and stretched out, muscles rippling under jet black scales. Then it went to a regal pose in its shining armor for all to see. Then it turned to Chen and did as close to a smile any dinosaur could get to. But his stomach growled loudly, and Phantom cast a meek look at Chen. He sighed.

"Clouse, go get grass for Phantom, and be sure not to leave any root balls on them." Clouse walked outside, coming back with an armful of grass. Phantom ate his meal, and Chen then allowed Phantom to snooze the rest of the day away, saving energy for the evening's battle.

. . .

Two guards went to get Zane for the second battle of the week. Grabbing the torch they left behind last time, they walked down into the deep parts of the dungeon to Zane's cell. There, they found him, slouched and unconscious, but came to when the door was being unlocked. Zane didn't struggle as the guards unchained his wrists and rechained them behind his back. He was led through the dungeons and through the forest, and into the arena.

Zane was put in the same holding chamber as last time. The guards unlock his hands and shoved him roughly into the chamber before locking the door shut. Zane walked over and gripped the bars tightly, listening to the roaring crowd in the stands, and staring into the moonlit arena. The Jade Blade glinted in the silver-cyan light as it rested in the wooden snake's mouth. Zane then focused on the pair of huge wooden doors, where his opponent lay in wait. Zane noticed that nothing was banging on them.

Suddenly the sound of something sliding across the floor caused Zane to jump and whip around. He saw nothing in the dark chamber that would've caused the noise. He turned back around, but then something gleaming in the moonlight that flooded between the bars caught his eye. He turned, and saw a pair of golden sai laying on the floor. Zane cautiously picked them up, if it was some sort of trap. He held his breath and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. Zane was turning back to the bars when they disappeared into the ground, and the roar of the crowd became defeaning.

Zane took a step out, gripping his sai nervously. He saw Chen sitting back in his chair

Chen waited for the stands to quiet down before getting up to stand.

"As you all know, my champion won the last battle, so it is currently 1-0."

Then Chen looked at the wooden doors the beast was behind. "Also, now my champion will be known as Phantom for now on." It was just then that when Zane looked to the scoreboard that a "P" was above the beast' side.

"Also, for this battle, it will involve weapons, as seen with him." Chen pointed to Zane.

"But since Phantom can't handle a weapon, we have an alternative for him."

When Zane heard that the beast couldn't use a weapon, he became a little more confident. I might actually win this. He thought, looking at his sai to check that they were sharpened.

"Guards!" Chen barked. "Get down there and let him loose!"

As if on cue, the doors swing open and Phantom came charging out, letting out a roar.

Zane's little confidence vanished when he saw Phantom. He was wearing armor, almost covering his entire body, which glinted coldly in the light of the moon. Zane saw his claws, which were dangerously sharp. Phantom skidded to halt in front of Zane, smoke pouring out of his nose. His claws twitched, he was ready to tear Zane apart. Zane couldn't help but take a step back.

"Claws up! Weapons ready! FIGHT!"

Phantom roared, lunged, and slashed for Zane's chest, but Zane caught his claws on one sai and pushed them away, going for the exposed part of his leg with the other. The sai made contact, but in only made a rough scraping noise as it slid across Phantom's scales. Phantom caught Zane's arm that he slashed with and pulled him towards him, clocking Zane viciously with his horns. The noise of horns scraping on metal caused some people to cover their ears. Then Phantom punched Zane away.

Zane staggered back trying to regain his breath and felt his cheek, where it was stinging horribly. Zane felt something wet and cold and saw it was his silver blood. Zane saw with blurry vision that it was starting to drip onto the floor. Then he heard the sound of claws scraping on the ground caused him to look up. He saw Phantom coming towards him, smoke wafting out of his nose, growling, and got his sai ready. Phantom lunged.

Phantom reared up and did a punch to the left, a punch to the right, and finally an uppercut, all squarely to Zane's face. Zane staggered and dropped his sai. But Zane recovered and retrieved them.

Big mistake. Phantom was able to knock Zane around until he could pin him to the floor. Zane winced as he felt razor sharp claws dig into his shoulders.

Phantom was on top of Zane again, still going for the chest. He had Zane pinned to the floor, and kept trying to get past the sai, when Zane remembered that the underbelly was the most vulnerable part of an armored animal's body. So when Phantom was getting really for another slash, Zane thrust one of his sai up towards its belly. But instead of what Zane hoping for, the sai just glanced uselessly off the underarmor and clattered to the floor. Phantom saw that and gave Zane a cold, merciless look, and slashed. Zane was able to block it, and in desperation, saw the vulnerable spot under the chin and slashed for it.

Blood spattered all over his face as the sai cut deeply at the throat. Phantom shrieked and staggered back, clutching the area near the throat. Blood continued to spill past his claws and pool on the ground. Zane thought he was going to be sick. The sound of Phantom trying to breath with all the blood in his throat made Zane's stomach tie into knots. For the moment, Phantom seemed to forget about Zane, so he took advantage of it and went to go get his other sai. He pulled it towards him, making a hollow scraping noise.

Phantom stopped freaking out for a second and saw Zane getting up. Forgetting about the gash on his throat, Phantom stalked towards Zane. He lunged.

Everything then seemed to turn slow motion. As Phantom was airborne, Zane, in desperation, slashed in Phantom's face. Zane watched as one of his sai sailed towards Phantom's glowing eye, slicing across it.

Zane then dove out of the way to avoid a half a ton crushing him. Phantom landed awkwardly beside him, screaming in pain. Zane couldn't believe it. He just cut the beast' eye out! He turned to face Chen, but a glint of green caught his eye. He turned to look.

The jade blade!

Zane looked to Phantom, who was trying to get over to him, but strangely kept veering side to side, as if his vision was way out of focus.

Zane took advantage of Phantom's distraction and made a run for the Jade blade. He scaled the wooden snake and snatched the Jade blade out of it mouth. The crowd cheered. They weren't really going for anybody, because they all had some real entertainment for once. But there were a few guards who looked quite ticked. Zane wondered if they betted money on Phantom and lost. Then some pained, faint roars came from below. Zane looked down to a sight that almost made him fall of the pole from being lightheaded.

Phantom was staggering all over the place, sending blood and eye fluid flying everywhere. Phantom's movements became weaker, until he finally collapsed from blood loss. Phantom tried to get up, but he just couldn't. He looked to Zane, and jist for a split second Zane thought he saw a flicker of those once kindly eyes, but they switched back to blank purple too quickly for Zane to tell.

Phantom's head fell with a thud. Dark red blood trickled out of the corner of Phantom's mouth.

Zane covered his mouth to keep from throwing up. He saw Chen out of the corner of his eye and glanced over to him.

Chen was leaned forward, stunned at what just happened. Phantom had just went down with a couple slashes to the head. But they were in vital places. Chen just gaped at Phantom, who was either dead or passed out. Zane didn't know if Chen was suddenly going to explode, call him a cheater and force him to continue the battle, or just keep staring at his befallen champion.

Zane glanced over to Clouse, who nodded.

Take your mark.

Zane jumped off the pole and scraped it across the wall.

One to one.

Zane couldn't believe it.

He actually won.

But for some reason, it didn't feel as pleasurable as he expected.

. . .

Two guards kneeled next to Phantom. One poked his leg with a spear. It twitched a little. The two guards looked at each other before one setting a hand on Phantom's neck, checking for a pulse. He couldn't feel anything.

"I'm not getting anything." He said.

"Here, let me try." The other guard mumbled, shoving his arm out of the way. "Yes, there's something alright. You were doing it wrong."

"Well, let's not waste any more time. We need to get hi-"

Suddenly the sound of someone running up behind them caused both guards to whip around.

"No, no, NO!" A caped figure ran past them. They looked in bewilderment as they saw Chen was on his knees at Phantom's head.

"How could this happen?! I had you in armor and everything! How could you just fall like that?!"

Chen then whipped to the guards. "Well," he snapped. "Is he dead?!"

"N-no." One of them stammered, startled at Chen's hostility. "We checked for his pulse. He's alive."

Just then, Phantom's eyes fluttered open. Chen saw this, gasped, and got on his elbows too.

"Phantom? Phantom, can you here me?" Phantom groaned again and lifted his head to look at Chen. Chen saw the eye that was slashed out and looked away. It was horrible to look at.

Fluid and blood was all over that side of his face, and the eye itself-it was gone. It was in two tattered pieces,hanging from the top and bottom of the eye socket. Chen also saw the blood dripping from Phantom's throat. Quickly Chen ripped off his cloak and wrapped it tightly around Phantom's neck to stanch the bleeding.

"Come on, we need to get you back to the palace." Chen coaxed Phantom to get up. He did, and when Chen looked down at Phantom's chest, he threw up in his mouth a little.

All of Phantom's neck was coated with dried blood. So was his chest, front legs, and claws. All coated in dried blood.

Phantom stumbled a little, looking faint. His legs were shaking. Chen knew they needed to get going.

"Did you wash all the blood off?" Chen had Eyezor get the blood off Phantom's armor.

"I did." He held out Phantom's helmet, which was clean now, but strangely still had a red tinge to it that shone eerily. "But it still has this reddish glow to it. I can't get that out."

Chen smiled bitterly. "That's fine, Eyezor." Chen actually liked the way it glowed. If only it wasn't Phantom's blood, the blood of the tin man or some other master. That would make it all more the better. Chen leaned back in his chair, seeming relaxed. A loud snore startled him, and he jumped and tried to find who or what made it. His eyes came to rest on Phantom, who was sleeping peacefully. They took his armor off, and bandages were wrapped around his neck and head. He was very still, no twitching claws like normal. This concerned Chen greatly. He turned back to Eyezor.

"But even if Phantom is ready by tomorrow night, he would still be pretty weak on his own…" Chen rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and suddenly an amazing idea hit him. "Ooh!" Chen sprang up in front of Eyezor.

"Eyezor, ask Clouse if you think Phantom would get along with his snake. Go! Now!"

Eyezor nodded and ran off to find Clouse. Chen watched him go. Eyezor soon vanished from sight, and Chen leaned back, rubbing his hands together.

"Prepare to meet your end, tin-man. And some of your friends too."

 **OOOOOH, what is Chen planning now? And Zane actually won this time. Also, if you want to see any types of fights in particular, tell me in the reviews. I might even make a separate book about them, heh. Anyway, tips and advice greatly welcomed, as it makes my stories better, and comment anything you would like to see done in this story! STAY AZOME!**


	6. Notification: Something 4 the next fight

**17-38, ey! I'm like hey wassup hello!** **Soooo, I know I shouldn't be doing this, but this is for deciding the course of the next chapter, and YOU can be a part of it. There's a poll on my profile asking which two prisoners of Chen's should Zane fight with in the next battle. This IS a tag-team, so please PICK TWO. I won't be updating until this poll gets a good amount of votes, and I won't make the mistake like I did with Phantom's name this time. So please vote, and have a good day or night!** **~ DragonWhisperer762**


	7. Chapter 7: A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

**Y HALO THAR! I have a VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!** **The results are in. I asked for you to vote for who you want in the next battle. Top two would be chosen.** **And those two are (drumroll please!)** **Cole and Ash!** **Thank you all for votingI know I haven't updated this story in YEARS. I've been really busy lately with "The Discovery of Mt. Horn", I don't really have time to work on it often. So it may or may not be put on hiatus.** **BUT...** **I have a little excerpt from the in-progress chappie for you so dat-a way I'm not breaking any rules here!** **Lets cut to the chase and get to it!**

He was asleep when he felt deathly cold mist against him. He jumped awake and looked up.

He found himself staring into a pair of glowing icy blue eyes.

It roared, almost busting his eardrum. He scrambled out of the way, just in time to dodge a heavy talon thudding down next to him. He scrabbled to get up and ran. But there was nowhere to go.

But he still kept running, until he found himself in front of a wall of stone. Hearing the sound of chains sliding across frozen ground, he began to desperately feel the stone face for any sort of foothold, but it was all the same. Cold smooth stone. He then made a turn to run back, but a menacing growl and a shadow looming on the rock made him freeze on the spot. A cloud of icy mist surrounded him. It had cornered him. He knew that running away was no option anymore. He slowly turned around.

There it stood, wings flared, hissing out so much mist all there could be seen was its silhouette and glowing blue eyes. It reared and roared. He was absolutely terrified.

And then it slashed right for his chest.

 **0_o What do you think that was?**


End file.
